What do these three politicians have in common, apart from being Liberal Democrats? David Laws, Vince Cable, Chris Huhne. The answer is that all have been undermined by vitriolic stories. As Bob Dylan said: Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press.
Laws became the shortest-serving Cabinet minister for decades when his fiddling of rental expenses was revealed by the Telegraph.
Cable lost his role regulating the press and much of his reputation by simpering and boasting to undercover reporters (from the Telegraph, again). Now Huhne is getting viciously turned over for allegedly getting his ex-wife to take points on her licence when he was caught speeding.
The first two won't have been Tory party stitch-ups. Political parties tend not to be organised well enough to do these things. But the papers are. Never underestimate the ability of the press to pursue their targets to destruction.
It is possible that government fingerprints may be found on Chris Huhne's predicament. What is certain is that the moment he slapped down No to AV propaganda on the Cabinet table and demanded of David Cameron and George Osborne that they dissociate from them, the conspirators got out their hatchets.
His ex-wife is taking the rap for being a bunny boiler but why should she do this now? It isn't true that Huhne's confrontation with the Tory top brass was part of a plan to take over the LibDem leadership from Nick Clegg - he was furious at the behaviour of the Tories and was prepared to go public over their two-faced, disgraceful dissembling. Now he is paying the price.
When Liam Fox appeared to be sticking the knife into Cameron before and somehow anti-Fox stuff got leaked to the press, he got off the hook because the Tory papers weren't prepared to pursue it and him. They agree with him and relish the prospect of an even more right-wing leader. They will back off the latest leak, too.
Meanwhile Chris Huhne will be pursued to extinction as he is seen as an enemy of the Right.
Sad, isn't it?
Take Me To Your Leader Writer
- David Seymour
- ...has written more leaders (newspaper editorials) than anyone alive or dead, an honour still to be recognised by the Guiness Book of Records or the Nobel judges. I have produced them for the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Sunday Mirror, Today, the Sunday People, the Evening Post (Hemel Hempstead), the Caithness Courier and the Student (Edinburgh). My creed is: Have opinions, Will travel.
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